Before he suffered a toe sprain on Nov. 18 that has kept him out nearly a month with no clear timetable for his return, forward Jake Layman was playing some of the best offensive basketball on the Timberwolves.
In the five games he played before sitting out, Layman was averaging 12.6 points on 60% shooting while logging 28 minutes.
He was an important part of what the Wolves were doing on that end of the floor.
"He's a gazelle out there," guard Shabazz Napier said. "He's able to shoot the ball well. He's able to run."
But the Wolves will also tell you he's pivotal for the defense. It might be no coincidence the team has had its worst stretch of the season on that end of the floor while Layman is out.
With Layman on the court, the Wolves' defensive efficiency was 102.3 points per 100 possessions, one of the best marks on the team. With him off the court, that number spikes to 114.1.
One underrated aspect of Layman's contributions on defense is that he understands what assistant coach and de facto defensive coordinator David Vanterpool expects out of their schemes. Layman played under Vanterpool for three seasons in Portland before joining the Wolves.
"He's an underrated defensive player the way he moves his feet, the way he can guard multiple positions," coach Ryan Saunders said. "But also [he knows] pretty much this full system defensively and is able to communicate on the court with guys as they've been continuing to try and learn. There's a correlation in that because before Jake got hurt, he was playing some heavier minutes for us."
